When Shane Beamer and the rest of the staff reconvened this week and were able to be on the field with the team in simple offseason workouts, MarShawn Lloyd was out there and—really for the first time since the beginning of last season—full go on a football field.
Beamer said Wednesday before a Welcome Home Tour stop Lloyd, who tore his ACL two practices into training camp in 2020, is full go and cutting and moving without issue a week before practice starts.
“He looks good. We were out there this morning for about 30 minutes with the players before I came over here,” Beamer said. “Watching him run around, he’s cutting and running full speed. He’s another one who sitting out last year made him appreciate how much he loves the game of football. It’s been exciting to see him.”
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Lloyd didn’t practice at all in the spring, still going through rehab, and was limited in what he could do during summer workouts from a running and cutting standpoint.
As the Gamecocks get ready to begin preseason practice, it’ll be the first time the Gamecock coaching staff has seen him in pads since taking over.
“All we’ve seen is workouts in the weight room and running around obviously not in pads this summer. I’m really excited to watch him when practice starts,” Beamer said. “I know how talented he is; we recruited him out of high school when I was at other schools and I’m glad he’s here with us.”
Lloyd was a former five-star recruit and the No. 33 recruit in the country, picking the Gamecocks over most notably Georgia. He hasn’t played a snap in over a year at South Carolina because of the ACL injury.
Because he hasn’t logged a padded snap at South Carolina at all—his injury happened before teams put on pads last summer—it can be hard to tell what Lloyd can do on a football field, but he’s shown enough during offseason workouts to make Beamer excited about his potential.
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“I think you can tell quite a bit. It’s not the same as being out there and practicing but seeing the speed, seeing the explosive ability, agility and being able to cut,” Beamer said.
“The knowledge of understanding what we’re doing from an offensive standpoint and assignment wise. You can see that for sure. There’s no substitute for actual live action in a practice or game. You see enough in practice and workouts to see he’s a talented young man.”
South Carolina players are due to report in a week and will begin training camp Friday, Aug. 5 before the season officially starts Sept. 4 at home against Eastern Illinois.
